**This class will be taught on Zoom**
When the Bay Bridge opened on November 12, 1936, its debut was celebrated with five days of parades, a Navy air show, and a regatta. Yet within months, the newly completed Golden Gate Bridge captured the world’s imagination with its graceful design and iconic International Orange color, leaving its hardworking sister bridge largely overlooked.
“They were like twin sisters,” says Ben Davis, the civic visionary behind The Bay Lights. “One was celebrated for her beauty, while the other did the hard work. The Bay Bridge was our Cinderella—with ashes on her cheeks. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, just for one night, she could put on a gown and become the belle of the ball?”
That dream became The Bay Lights, the monumental public artwork created by internationally acclaimed artist Leo Villareal and produced by Davis. More than 25,000 LED lights transformed the western span of the bridge into a living work of art, delighting millions of residents and visitors while permanently changing San Francisco’s nighttime skyline.
How did such an improbable idea become one of the world’s most beloved public artworks?
Join art curator, artist, and art curator, artist and OLLI instructor Hugh Leeman as he interviews Ben Davis about the inspiration, setbacks, partnerships, and perseverance behind The Bay Lights. Together they will explore how one ambitious idea grew into a movement that has helped redefine San Francisco through art, light, music, and public space.
The conversation will also feature stories behind the illumination of the Conservatory of Flowers for the 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love; Grace Light, the immersive light and music installation at Grace Cathedral; the transformation of JFK Promenade into a vibrant cultural destination filled with public art, music, gardens, and its iconic yellow chairs; Illuminate LIVE, the free concert series that now brings more than 125 performances each year to the Golden Gate Bandshell ( at the Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse) and the recent 7×7 Pride laser installation, which filled the night sky with 49 beams of light—one for each of San Francisco’s 49 square miles.
